Rhumb
08-18-2003, 12:20 PM
While a little behing the ball perhaps, I did just see my first RX-8 up close -- a red MTX with Chapparal interior (exterior only).
General: very nice and betting in real life than the pics. Trim, athletic and refined. A bit funky too overall, but in a good way.
Positive: Overall looks and size. It generally appeared slim and trim for the most part. I think the detailing was generally well done and the materials and paint job seemed quite good. The front end/fender treatment, which can look a touch gimmicky in pictures, actually looked much cleaner and nicer in the flesh. It has a good presence: light, lithe and athletic looking with being so light as to appear insubstantial.
Negative: A bit high waisted making the sides a little more slab sided and thick in the middle than I'd like. While not as bad as many cars these days, whose sides look like warehouse walls, I greatly prefer low beltlines and a commensurate increase in glass area with perhaps a touch more contouring. Rather than the ubiquitous single arching line delineating the beltline like about 99% of today's designs, I might have done a subtle double arc intersecting at the front/rear door line to lower the beltline about 1-2 inches at the front driver/passneger yet retain sufficient mass at the rear quarters to work with the C pillar design.
The back end around the "diffuser" panel appeared a bit busy and tack on. I would prefer a cleaner, lighter look here rather than this bit of black protuberance.
The taillight design seemed a touch busy and overdone, not sure how that will age in the long run (classic or short term fad?)
I might have carried a bit more concavitly in the side back from the front air extractors. I think that to would have lightened up the side a touch and better integrated the extractors into the overall design. As is, is immediately go concave by the door panel giving the impression the extractor vents were put in late in the design (I know they weren't, but...)
General: very nice and betting in real life than the pics. Trim, athletic and refined. A bit funky too overall, but in a good way.
Positive: Overall looks and size. It generally appeared slim and trim for the most part. I think the detailing was generally well done and the materials and paint job seemed quite good. The front end/fender treatment, which can look a touch gimmicky in pictures, actually looked much cleaner and nicer in the flesh. It has a good presence: light, lithe and athletic looking with being so light as to appear insubstantial.
Negative: A bit high waisted making the sides a little more slab sided and thick in the middle than I'd like. While not as bad as many cars these days, whose sides look like warehouse walls, I greatly prefer low beltlines and a commensurate increase in glass area with perhaps a touch more contouring. Rather than the ubiquitous single arching line delineating the beltline like about 99% of today's designs, I might have done a subtle double arc intersecting at the front/rear door line to lower the beltline about 1-2 inches at the front driver/passneger yet retain sufficient mass at the rear quarters to work with the C pillar design.
The back end around the "diffuser" panel appeared a bit busy and tack on. I would prefer a cleaner, lighter look here rather than this bit of black protuberance.
The taillight design seemed a touch busy and overdone, not sure how that will age in the long run (classic or short term fad?)
I might have carried a bit more concavitly in the side back from the front air extractors. I think that to would have lightened up the side a touch and better integrated the extractors into the overall design. As is, is immediately go concave by the door panel giving the impression the extractor vents were put in late in the design (I know they weren't, but...)